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motorhome tow rig?

K5Glazier

K5Glazier

1/2 ton status
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May 29, 2003
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Location
Chandler, Az.
Does anyone out there tow with a motorhome. I am looking to get a tow rig real soon, but have some questions. First, I know that I'll be better off with a diesel, but can't afford a MH with one, so it will have a big block. I am also looking into a dodge ctd dually, but with the dually, I'll have no camping accomodations (I don't like slide in campers). With a MH, I'll suffer power going up hills but yet have a comfortable bed at night. (getting to old to sleep in tents). What would you guys do and why? I'll be towing about 6 times a yr., blazer & trailer or 20' boat.
Other factors:
Dually will probably be a DD and, I will have a truck payment..
No expierence with a dually or diesels..
MH I can pay cash and no payment..
MH idea sounds good, but how dangerous is towing uphill with a fully loaded MH? This my main concern. There are couple steep grades to and from Flagstaff, AZ. that I will encounter and some that I may encounter on other trips.
Thanks,
Joe
 
Have you considered getting a gooseneck trailer long enough to put a slide in camper on? A motorhome is gonna be a dog towing......i think the idea of a getting a cummins as a DD and tow rig probably makes more sense.
 
I bought a motor home in Spetember with the plans to tow my trail rig around with it. I have a 34' Class A with a 460 FI and OD trans. I have not towed with it yet because I need to put a different hitch on the back, the stock one is only rated at 3k pounds. I have been camping in it though and I will be honest, I don't care if I drop to 35 mph up hills and get 3 mpg this is the coolest toy I have ever had in my life. Yeah, I may have to pay more for fuel and I may not have quite the power but I sleep in my own queen sized bed, crap in my own toilet and take a hot private shower every morning NO MATTER WHERE I AM, no hotel within 100 miles? NO PROBLEM!! Hummmm...100 degrees out? Come on in and kick back in my air conditioned living room while we watch a DVD. Oh hey, can you check on the pizza in the oven and grab a beer out of the fridge for me? Supposed to get below freezing tonight? Kick on one of the two furnaces.
 
Hmmm, good stuff, hope you dont mind if I ask a question - does anyone have any data on loaded K5 weigthts? I will search now, just wondering since it relates here.

I am getting another MH soon and hope to tow the K5 - looking at 87 Holday Rambler 26' class c, 460, fully loaded, blah blah. In addition to putting a beefy hitch on you may need to beef up the frame. I have seen many family mohos get a saggy arse from long tows with heavy loads. Check it periodically at least even though it's best to beef before damage.
 
Yes, Ive thought about the gooseneck-camper combo as another member here in Az. has one, and its sweet. I still like the MH idea for its roomyness as Brent states. My main concern is safety as in going up a grade at 30-40mph. I'll probably go the diesel route and deal with my comforts as the come.
Hav'nt weighed any of my stuff yet so I have no solid answer as to what they weigh. My guess would be around 7500lbs- trailer, blazer and gear.
Thanks for the replys,
Joe
 
On weights, i would assume 8-9000 lbs with everything. Extra gear, fuel, etc all adds a lot....and better to error on the overkill side, esp. when towing.
 
I am sure that my K5 is over 6000lb.....:eek1: You think a motorhome (tranny in particular) could tow that for long??
 
My MH has the same tranny as my friends 99 F350 P/S so I wouldn't know why not.

I have noticed on the Class C motorhomes that the frame dosen't always extend to the rear of the vehicle so that could cause some problems towing with a heavy tongue.
 
I'm resurrecting this old thread because it is relevant and I can't find anything else here.

I have a 1993 F53 chassis motorhome, so it has a FI 460 and overdrive transmission. Is it possible or realistic to tow my K5 behind it? There is something like 5k lbs between the vehicle weight and combined weight rating, so with a trailer I would be over by like 2000lbs. Between gas, fresh water and holding tanks, it can hold a ton (literally) so I could keep them low to save some weight. Is this unsafe or just really slow?
 
somthing like this.....?

dsc00112iq1.jpg
 
Blue85 said:
I'm resurrecting this old thread because it is relevant and I can't find anything else here.

I have a 1993 F53 chassis motorhome, so it has a FI 460 and overdrive transmission. Is it possible or realistic to tow my K5 behind it? There is something like 5k lbs between the vehicle weight and combined weight rating, so with a trailer I would be over by like 2000lbs. Between gas, fresh water and holding tanks, it can hold a ton (literally) so I could keep them low to save some weight. Is this unsafe or just really slow?
Click to expand...

I don't know much about em, is the F-53 a Ford chassis or the osh kosh chassis?

I have heard the osk kosh stuff is way beefier. The only true way to stay safe is to stick to your load limits, but you know that, I say load it up and go for a spin see how it works. I would bet it would be fine just slow
 
nice setup with the Lance 62 Fat Guy :)

You can do a slide in camper that doesn't overhang the back. This allows use of the hitch all you want. I loved my 11'3" Lance, miss it. Towing a Blazer and pulling your house around, sounds like a diesel job to me.
 
SledheadAk pulls his 1-ton Big block jimmy on 44's with his E-350 class c Motorhome
 
blazinzuk said:
I don't know much about em, is the F-53 a Ford chassis or the osh kosh chassis?
Click to expand...
It's a Ford, but beefier than the F350 - the sticker shows 17,000lbs GVWR. Multipoint injected 460 and E4OD transmission. The transmission actually runs a little warmer than I'd like on the freeway already. I added a fan to the cooler, but could possibly go with a bigger cooler in the future. I'm unsure of the combined weight rating. I should try to get it on a scale.
 
I can't find exact figures for this model year, but it seems most 90's F-53 were rated for about 25k combined. If I am indeed under the 17k vehicle rating, that leaves 8k for rig and trailer. The chassis is rated for 11k on the rear axle, even though I think the Dana 80 can handle more - maybe it's based on the tires? I think the chassis is designed for about a 30' motorhome, so there is a 2' extension welded onto the frame. Maybe this should be reinforced to handle the tongue weight? I will also need to go above a Class III hitch, which I believe is only 5k/500 or something like that. The rig is at least 5500 and what would the trailer weigh? 1800?
 
The biggest thing you might have to deal with is rear sway. That is the biggest problem I have heard of when towing heavier loads with a motorhome.

I am sure you will be able to ascertain if the frame extension is beefy enough to handle the weight you will be putting behind it.

The 5500 lb and 18 lb are probably pretty close guesses. Rig might be just a bit heavier though
 
Most C class motorhomes are not really capable of towing a K5 Blazer on a trailer. Most of them only are limited to towing 3,500-5,000 pounds and then with the trailer tongue weight you cann't put anything in the actual RV because they get overloaded very easily. Some add overloads, airbags, and beef up the hitch area but you're still overloaded.

We went to a 12' SlideIn camper and could not be happier:waytogo:

Note that I have not been able to tow the Blazer yet because my Blazer trailer was a gooseneck that I sold and have not replaced the trailer yet.

I've added Airbags, rear stabilizer bar, adjustable Rancho shocks and the Superhitch setup. So I can tow 12K with weight distribution setup.
 
We use a 26 foot class A ( southwind on a P30 chassis) to tow a 18 foot flat bed with truck on it all over the eastern planes of CO.
Gets a little slow on the bigger hills, and does desent in the mountains for what it is with no trailer.

The front coil springs were replaced about 10 years ago, and I really need to do something about the back ones. The rear is starting to sag.
 
I figured out last summer that the switch on the brake pedal wasn't working, keeping the TCC from locking. Now the tranny never gets warm. My rig is close to 6000lbs. I need to weigh the MH - probably near empty for a minimalistic weight and then fully loaded to see how much it varies. The GVWR is 17k, so I need to stay under that anyway. I have read that it may be as "light" as 11k empty. Assuming the rig is within GWVR, 6k rig + 2k trailer is under the 25k combined rating.

And of course I need a trailer. I can't find any good threads here about what to look for in a trailer. Are surge brakes OK or is adding an electronic brake controller mandatory?
 
I would say go with electric brakes. You really have no adjustability with surge brakes, and some don't even have a lockout to allow backing without the brakes applying.
 
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